


When the Burning Moment Breaks

by EdosianOrchids901



Series: Plain Simple Prompts [20]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Action & Romance, Dominion War (Star Trek), Flirting, M/M, Minor Injuries, POV First Person, POV Julian Bashir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 10:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15970265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EdosianOrchids901/pseuds/EdosianOrchids901
Summary: Dialogue prompt: "Poke it with a stick".





	When the Burning Moment Breaks

**Author's Note:**

> Part of a series of ficlets based on dialogue prompts from Tumblr. Written 3/18.

We were just approaching the edge of the foliage when Garak’s hand clamped on my shoulder. “Guard,” he hissed, ducking down and pulling me along with him. 

I craned my neck, searching. We’d need to neutralize any threats before we could access the building. “Where?”

Still keeping his hand on my shoulder (an overprotective gesture if I’d ever seen one – surely he didn’t think I was actually stupid enough to stand up), he pointed. “Down there. On the ground, against the tree.”

That was decidedly odd. Why would a Jem’Hadar be sitting on the ground? “Do you think he’s dead?” I whispered, sneaking a glance at my partner. 

Garak’s expression was intense, his gaze locked on the potential threat. “You’re the one with the scanner, my dear.”

Knowing that he would keep me safe at all costs, I pulled out my tricorder and began to fiddle with it. “No such luck. We’re inside the dampening field, and it’s taking out the scanners.”

The dampening field and shields were exactly why we were here – they spread across a massive portion of the base, preventing Defiant from being able to simply make a strafing run. It had seemed like an easy job. Just beam down a few teams, take out the sentries, disable the shields. 

But there had been far more soldiers stationed here than reports had indicated. Elim and I were both covered in blood, most of it thankfully not ours. Courtesy of the dampening field, phasers were inoperable, so we’d had to engage in hand to hand combat.

With a sigh, I folded up my tricorder and put it away. “So, ideas on how to tell if the guard’s dead, short of just walking up and trying to kill him?”

“Poke it with a stick,” Garak suggested flatly. 

“Don’t be facetious.” 

He gave me a small smile, still staring straight at the guard. “I’m afraid we’re rather out of options aside from simply attacking.”

Sudden dread struck me as he moved forward, and I grabbed his arm. “What if it’s a trap?”

He finally looked at me, eyes filled with cold determination. “Then I suppose we’ll simply have to kill all of them.”

“That’s fair, I guess.” Even though it wasn’t remotely professional or appropriate at the moment, I caressed his cheek. “Elim, I love you.”

His gaze softened into the look that he reserved for my eyes only. “I love you too, Julian,” he murmured, leaning in to kiss me. 

And then he was all business again, moving soundlessly through the woods until he was just behind the sitting Jem’Hadar. He looked to me, checking for my readiness, and I nodded. 

Elim and I had been close for so long that we worked together beautifully as a team. It was easy for us to communicate solely with looks and body language, and since the breakout of war, it had served us well. 

So, as he plunged his knife into the nearest guard’s throat, it took only a slight movement from me to alert him to the fact that yes, this was a trap. 

We moved together into the fray, dodging, weaving, trying to be faster than the Jem’Hadar. Pain lanced through my shoulder as I went down in a tangle, and I struck almost blindly with my knife, dazed. Then the weight lifted off me, and I felt Garak’s hand on mine, pulling me to my feet. 

“Are you all right?” he said breathlessly, cupping my cheek. “Julian?”

“I’m fine, yeah.” I wiped Jem’Hadar blood off my face, looking at the fallen guards. “I was not expecting that many of them.”

“Nor was I.” Elim took a deep breath and gave me a wry look. “Onward, I suppose.”

We slipped inside the control room, both of us keeping a close eye out for further sentries. When none seemed apparent, Garak began to tap at one of the panels. 

“Ah, this is simple enough,” he said absently, fingers flying across the surface. “It should only take me a moment to bypass this and bring the shields down for this sector.”

“All right, good.” I looked around again, unsettled. Something about this didn’t feel right.

“There we are, just a second longer…”

The air shimmered behind my partner, and I lunged forward. “Garak!”

A blade sunk into his side and he cried out, crumpling. I slammed into the newly appeared soldier, making quick work of him with my own weapon. 

Once I was sure the enemy was actually dead, I dropped to my knees beside my partner, who had managed to get himself into a seated position. “Elim,” I called urgently, laying my hand on his arm.

He looked up at me, eyes narrowed with agony. “Would you be so good as to tap the confirmation button on the screen? I’d do it myself, but movement may not be the wisest idea at the immediate moment.”

“I’ve got it, don’t worry.” I quickly finished the sequence, then wrapped my arms around Garak. “Bashir to Defiant, we’ve got it. Transport us directly to sickbay!”

Once we materialized, Elim gave me a smile. “That was well done, my dear.”

“Uh-huh,” I answered automatically, pulling his hand away from the wound. He hissed in pain but didn’t otherwise protest my examination. 

“I mean it.” Although his voice was a bit strained, he seemed genuinely excited. “You were magnificent, absolutely magnificent.”

“And you’re bleeding.” I grabbed my supplies and setting about treating his wound. 

“You are as well,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of it in a minute.” At least none of this was serious – it could have been so much worse. 

He waited until I was at least done with the stab injury to his side before he spoke again. “I do mean it, though.”

“What, that I’m magnificent?” I smiled at him, sitting down on the edge of the biobed so I could run a few more scans. 

“You are.” He had that soft, affectionate expression again, the one that he reserved only for me. “You’re always magnificent, whether you’re fighting Jem’Hadar, or battling a difficult patient.”

I chuckled, squeezing his hand. “You are too, you know.”

“Oh, well, I don’t know about that.” He ducked his head for a moment, as if embarrassed, and then brought his eyes back to my face. “I admit, I find you very attractive right now.”

“What, while I’m covered in blood?” I knew what he meant, though – I found him utterly intoxicating when he got that intensely focused gaze that meant he was contemplating killing someone. Upon reflection, I realized that I probably should have been more concerned about that than I actually was. Maybe it was the influence of all those spy programs. 

Garak’s eyes twinkled, and I suspected he knew exactly what was going through my mind. “What’s that old cliché from those spy stories you love so much?” he asked innocently, taking hold of the front of my jacket. 

Bending down, I pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Which one, dearest?”

“Oh, you know.” Arms encircled me, pulling me down against his chest. “The hero and his love interest on a boat or ship at the end, getting intimately acquainted.”

Amused, I gave him a proper kiss. “That’s one cliché I’m more than happy to embrace.”


End file.
